Click Bait continued (Heuristic #2)

1. What contentis typically included or excluded? How is the content treated? What sorts of examples are used? What counts as evidence (personal testimony, facts, etc.)?

• Typically, the content included is anything from a crazy story, to a holy grail product, to an entertainment piece. However, all of these contents will usually share a common theme which is over exaggeration. Click bait exaggerates or completely goes away from the topic in order to draw the audience in

2. What rhetorical appealsare used? What appeals to logos, pathos, and ethos appear?

• I have found that any and all rhetorical appeals can be used in click bait
• Ethos: “This face wash is a MUST have. It is recommended by numerous dermatologists, click the link to shop our products!” (This seems like it is believable because dermatologists “recommend it, but there is no actual proof… clickbait to get you to buy the face wash or the other products)
• Pathos: “A child gets eaten alive by three puppies, watch what happens next!” (in reality the video was three puppies attacking the child with licks and hugs)
• Logos: “The best fitting jeans you’ll every buy! Comfortable, long lasting, and amazing fit! (this appeals to logic, it makes sense to buy jeans with all of these features and draws the reader into checking out the jeans)

3. How are texts in the genresstructured? What are their parts, and how are they organized?

• With click bait we focus on the title because that is what ends up being exaggerated and crazy. The title will have something that seems like it could be true, but a lot of times it sounds outrageous or too crazy to be true which is what makes the reader click on it.

4. In what format are texts of this genre presented? What layout or appearance is common? How long/big is a typical text in this genre?

• Typically one or two sentences with click bait. The rest of the story will come once you click on the link or ad or whatever it may be

5. What types of “sentences”do texts in the genre typically use? How long are they? Are they simple or complex, passive or active? Are the sentences varied? Do they share a certain style?

• The sentences in the title of click bait are not longer than normally 1 or 2 sentences and are almost always active and engaging, getting you to click on it.

6. What diction is most common? What types of words (or symbols, images, etc.) are most frequent? Is a type of jargon used? Is slang used? How would you describe a typical writer’s tone?

• The diction used is normally very dramatic words such as crazy, unbelievable, insane, nuts, etc. and phrases such as “you won’t believe it”, “this is crazy”, “see what happens next” etc. Also, the titles are sometimes in capital letters and/or include exclamation points to get your attention

 

Analyze What These Patterns Reveal About the Situation and Scene

1. What do these patterns reveal about the genre, its situation, and the people who use it?

• Click bait reveals how gullible some people can be, or how naïve and unaware people can be. But click bait also serves as entertainment too

2. What do participants have to know or believe to understand or appreciate the genre?

• They have to believe that what they are clicking on is too good to be true, or not true at all. That is the whole reason people click on “click bait” because they don’t believe what they are reading

3. Who is invited into the genre, and who is excluded??

• I would say no one is really excluded unless there is a person who doesn’t go on the internet, shop, or watch tv.

4. What roles for writers and readers does it encourage or discourage?

• For the reader, it encourages you to believe everything you see and hear. Click baiters want you to believe what they are telling you. For the writer, it encourages using whatever tactics possible to get a view or make a sale

5. What can you learn about the actions being performed through the genre by observing its language patterns?

• From observing the patterns of the dramatic words and phrases in different types of click bait, we learn about the actions that are almost always the same which is brining empty or false promises to the reader

 

6. How is the subject of the genre treated? What content is considered most important? What content (topics or details) is ignored?

• I find that when I read click bait titles, I focus on the main word or phrase that is drawing the attention such as “You won’t believe it!” and then automatically click on it to see what it’s about rather than reading the whole title. By doing this the content in the title is sometimes ignored

 

7. What values, beliefs, goals, and assumptions are revealed through the genre’s patterns?

• The general beliefs and values revealed through the patterns of click bait wouldn’t be anything too specific. I think the patterns of click bait tend to be crazy, seemingly unbelievable statements that lure the reader in and attempt to gain something. The only main goal from all of the “writers” of click bait, would be too gain a view, make a sale, or whatever they can gain from the reader clicking on their product.

 

8. What actions does the genre enable? What actions does the genre constrain??

• The genre enables the reader to make sure not to believe everything you see or read or hear. This is because most of the time click bait is so far exaggerated from the truth that people think “This can’t be true” but there is a part of them that wants to know for sure, so they click on it anyways.